Centralization by decentralization. Paradoxical effects in management teams

Paradoxical slogans such as "controlled autonomy", "externally organized se lf-organization", "centralistic decentralization" and "regulated anarchy" p oint to strategies by the management which make use of two seemingly contra dictory phenomena: the advantages in innovation and efficiency that are imp lied in decentralized self-organization on the one hand and the advantages in synergy and control that come with a centralized management on the other hand. Starting from this assumption on the combination of centralization a nd decentralization as a deliberate management strategy, the results of a c ase study are discussed which was conducted in a medium-sized German compan y. This leads to a re-consideration and partial reversal of the original as sumption. It is shown that, rather than being a strategy intentionally empl oyed by the management, "centralization by decentralization" was an uninten ded side-effect of the introduction of team structures on several hierarchi cal levels which originally was a part of decentralization.